THE CAMPAIGN FOR HEALTHIER EATING IN AMERICA 

Almost 87 million consumers in the United States already believe that genetically modified (GM) foods aren’t safe, but can’t always avoid them because, without labeling, they don’t know how. The Campaign For Healthier Eating in America is busy educating the public about the documented health risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and providing shoppers with easy ways to find healthier non-GMO choices with our Non-GMO Shopping Guide and our GMO Health Risks brochure.

Our Campaign focuses on five main groups receptive to its message, each one is potentially large enough to achieve the tipping point alone:

Health Conscious Consumers
Food Companies and Restaurants
Parents and Schools
Healthcare Practitioners
Faith-based Groups

Everyday, more people are joining the Campaign, getting the facts, and buying Non-GMO.  Our Making It Happen action kit leads you through the steps you can take to the spread the word and engage your community, helping us to build the Campaign and focus the purchasing power of health-conscious shoppers like yourself.

The natural foods industry led the way in the widespread consumer rejection of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST) in dairy products by educating their customers about the health dangers associated with rbGH and making rbGH-free brands readily available.

Over the last three years, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Kroger, Dannon and Yoplait and over half of the 100 top dairies removed rbGH products as consumer concerns reached a tipping point on this issue. When US consumers pushed back against GM dairy products, the food industry responded. The market rejection of rBGH demonstrates that consumers are still at the top of the food chain, and can control the direction of the future.

The goal of the Campaign is to stop the genetic engineering of our food supply.

You may have heard the FDA and food industry claims that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food are safe, properly tested, and necessary to feed a hungry world. This just isn’t true! GMOs are a threat to the environment and to your health as one of the most dangerous and radical changes in the entire history of our food supply. In 2008, after fours years of study, the UN International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) confirmed that GMOs are antithetical to solving the problem of hunger.

Yet, derivative ingredients from the 4 major GM crops (soy, corn, canola and cotton), are found in 60-70% of foods in US grocery stores. With the introduction of GM sugar into the food supply in 2009, the biotech industry continues it’s worldwide march to genetically engineer our remaining grains, fruits, and vegetables. The stakes are getting very high. But as consumers we can make a difference in the outcome with the same simple strategy that forced the dairy industry to remove bovine growth hormone from their products. We stop buying genetically modified foods.

Even a small percentage of shoppers avoiding GM brands is enough to trigger an industry-wide cleanout. The Europe Union reached a consumer-driven tipping point in April 1999 on this issue and within a single week, virtually all major manufacturers publicly committed to stop using GM ingredients in their European brands. This has kept GMOs out of food in the EU, in spite of government approvals. We believe the critical number here is as little as 5%—15 million people or 5.6 million US households. But how can we reach that many?

The Campaign is distributing the Non-GMO Shopping Guide free in stores and making our Non-GMO Education Centers available to retailers, to drive home the message that “Healthy eating starts with no GMOs.” Manufacturers are given a free listing of their GM-free products  in our Non-GMO Shopping Guides.  We are actively seeking groups and organizations to join the Campaign; we have a wide range of campaign materials to help. And, we need YOU!

Internationally renowned singer and songwriter Pete Seeger once said:

“Life is like a see-saw and each of us is a grain of sand. It's important
 which side of the see-saw you put your grain of sand. You never
 know which grain will be the one that tips it in the right direction.”